Together at Last! A Ranma Jibunnoichi Fanfiction
by son of vegeta
Summary: Yet another one of those
1. Chestnut Fists and Mallets

Together at Last!

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction

By wingzeropilot

www.geocities.com/wing_zero_pilot195/ (Harmless Plug of the Day)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                _Hey, y'all.  It's me, WZP.  No, I'm NOT dead, much to the vexation of  anti-me people everywhere (although from the amount of time that has passed since I last posted a fic, you'd think I'd died).  It's been a long time since I submitted my first fanfic, "Gundam Wing Vengeance", and have developed quite an itchy writing finger in the past few weeks.  Since my last fanfic, I've seen many more anime series, including the hit, Ranma 1/2.  What can I say that hasn't already been said about it?  It's great!  Anywho, I've read several Ranma romance fics, some bad and some good (more good than bad, thank God), and have decided to whip one up of my own.  Granted, we never DO see Ranma and Akane get together seriously, in either the anime or the manga, but they come so close on so many occasions that it's pretty obvious they're a couple for life (for me, anyway).  After reading several fics, and watching the Ranma OAV episodes (especially OAV # 10, "The Tunnel of Lost Love"), I've seen time and again how Ukyo and Ryoga are a good couple (and team, all around), too.  Then, of course, there's Shampoo and Mousse (although that couple is a bit harder to see come together.  I think I'll have a bit of trouble with those two.  If only Shampoo weren't always such a, well, ahem...cough-bitch-cough... yeah.... to Mousse, it'd be a lot easier!).  Anywho, those are the main couples I'll be working with in this story.  It, like all to many of them out there, is one of those get-together storylines, with chapters centering around each of the couples.  I'll wait for a while to do chapters on couples like Nabiki and Kuno (another hard one) or Kasumi and Dr. Tofu (yet another toughie.  Thanks a bundle, Tofu....), but hopefully I'll get those done._

_                Granted, normally I'm a writer of action/adventure saga fanfics, but lately, as I've gotten over the belief that all women suck in general (stupid mental scarring from years of torment by girls from my school...), I've learned that love is one of the greatest things out there.  Granted, I've no real experience with love, but I have felt it, and it's awesome.  So why not make some warm and fuzzy fanfics to warm your hearts in the coming winter months (well, as this is written, it's the winter months.  I've no idea when it'll be released).  In other words, snuggle up with your otaku boy- or girlfriend and read my stories of how love was found amongst the many young people of Ranma 1/2.  It is also recommended that you kiss each other at least once before the end of each chapter, since it'll remind you of how lucky you are to have found someone perfect for you.  Awww... Ain't I the romantic..._

_                Please note that I am using the storylines behind the ANIME series as background, not the manga.  I've only read a handful of pages off the books at the local book store, so I can't actually use them as a valid source of background information.  Maybe when I have actual money, I'll be able to get them (stupid college.... Takes every dime I've ever had...).  Until then, I'll be using the anime series for this whole fanfic, and any others I write, in all likelihood.  Also, this fanfic takes place after everything that happens in the OAVs (the final bits of Ranma 1/2 lore in anime form).  Everyone's learned every technique from the anime series, and all events in the anime series have already occurred.  Otherwise, there'd be a MAJOR  plot hole or two (dozen) with the creation of these couples.  God knows we all hate plot holes...  Also for note, this is about two years after Ranma and Akane first meet.  That means that it's about a year or so after the end of the anime (including movies and the OAVs, since there were two seperate Christmas episodes).  This makes the two both 18 years old (or about to turn so), with Nabiki being 19 and Kasumi being 21.  Soun and Genma are their usual selves (two years isn't nearly long enough to change THOSE two).  Happosai is still his old, evil, evil, evil, evil self (dammit.... sometimes I wish I could leave him out, since he's the main threat to Ranma and Akane's getting together in my mind).  Dr. Tofu is still the capable doctor he always is, just so long as Kasumi isn't within sight or sound distance of him (yeah, he still loses it every time she's near.  It'd be hard for people to believe otherwise)._

_                As a bit of an author's note, it's very hard for me to come up with words accurately describing the actions of certain people (i.e. Akane and her mallet-ing of anyone in her way, the Kunos being themselves, Kasumi's body language [can anyone describe it without using the name "Kasumi" in it?  I have yet to hear it!]), so if I refer to things in that manner, fans of the anime and manga series will know what I'm talking about.  People who know little or nothing about the Ranmaverse (I pity you, you poor, poor people...) will hopefully get the gist of what I'm saying._

_                Anywho, this is getting longer than the first chapter, so as I always say, on with the story!___

_                Oh, yeah, I don't own Ranma 1/2.  Like I said, I'm a college student with no money.  If I owned Ranma 1/2, I'd have more than $6 in my savings account!_

_                On with the damned story!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Part I: Chestnut-Fists and Mallets**

                ~ Summer Vacation at the Tendo Dojo ~

                "Ranma, get back here!" Akane screamed, chasing after him through the living room, her trademark mallet in hand.  Once again, he had managed to incur her wrath through another series of simple misunderstandings and overall bad luck.

                "Hey, I'm tellin' ya, it ain't my fault!" girl-type Ranma yelled back, running as fast as her legs could carry her.  She didn't have many places to go.  She certainly couldn't go outside the Tendo household.  All she had on were boxers and a strategically-placed towel.  Ducking to avoid a thrown rock from the koi pond, she again shouted, "It's not my fault!!!"

                "You pervert!  You'll do anything to get a look at me in the bathtub!"

                "Why would I ever want to look at a flat-chested, wide-butt, uncute tomboy like---AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  The last part was cut off by Ranma's free flight via Mallet Airways.

                "Baka," Akane mumbled as she walked back to the house.  Then, suddenly, from out of the shadows of underneath the dinner table, a small shadow leapt out and firmly affixed itself onto Akane's chest.

                "C'mon, Akane!  Would you give me a backrub?  Or maybe let me rub something of yours...?" the lecherous old Happosai asked, rubbing his head in her cleavage and giving a healthy squeeze.

                "BACK OFF, YOU OLD CREEP!"  Another passenger on Mallet Airways....

                Meanwhile, on the porch, Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo were deep in the middle of yet another game of Shogi.

                "Come, now, Saotome, can't you move some other piece?" Soun asked in his somewhat-usual calm voice.  Genma once again had his friend at his mercy.

                "Now, now, Tendo.  This seems to me the most logical move on the board.  It wouldn't do for a martial artist to do something to his own disadvantage, would it?"

                "That may be true in most cases, Saotome, but I think that this is an exception."

                "Oh, and how is that, Tendo?"  As if summoned by Genma's words, Ranma crashed through the roof of the porch and landed head-to-head with her father.

                "Ow..."

                Taking advantage of his opponent's momentary lack of concentration, Soun quickly devoured the Shogi piece that represented the most risk to him.

                Elsewhere, Happosai had already landed and was quick to recover, having fallen through the roof of a local public bathhouse (the women's side, of course).  He was quick at work, oogling the women and stealing the various undergarments left behind in the dressing rooms.

                Just another usual day for the Ranma 1/2 gang....

                "Stupid, mean, uncute tomboy... Doesn't always have to hit so hard..." Ranma grumbled as she walked back home (with much assistance from a walking stick), a lump the size of a musk mellon on the side of her head.  "Probably doesn't even care about what's coming up..."

                If Ranma only knew that Akane had plans in store for him on his 18th birthday...

                Kasumi, as always, was in the kitchen, preparing lunch, as Akane walked in.

                "Why, hello, Akane!  Can I help you with something?" Kasumi asked in her usual Kasumi-like way (head tilted to the side, eyes happily shut, with a pleasant smile on her face).

                "Well, Kasumi, I was hoping that maybe, um..."  If she looked anything, it was awkward.  "Could you help me make something?  For Ranma?"

                "Oh, I'd be delighted to help!" the eldest Tendo daughter replied, turning around towards Akane and clasping her hands together over her chest in her Kasumi-like fashion.

                "Thanks, Kasumi.  Every time I do this kind of thing on my own, Ranma always heads for the hills."  Akane's voice was mixed with anger and disappointment, yet tinged with a little bit of humorous understanding.  Every time she made food these days, she made sure to try some on her own.  This quickly made her realize that her cooking wasn't the greatest in the world.  Since then, she had tried and tried and tried to get better at it.  It worked.... sometimes.  The other 80 percent of the time, Ranma replied with some offhand comment about "poison", "attempted murder", or how she would have been more humane to use the mallet.  Then, of course, there were her attempts at clothes...  Let's just say that there were plenty of things for Ranma to wear around the house, but he still stuck to his usual wardrobe whenever any member of outside society was within a mile.

                "Don't you worry, Akane!  We'll make sure he can't help but love this gift!"

                "Right!" Akane replied, completely fired up and self-assured that, this year, Ranma WILL like his gift.  _Of course, I'll never forget that first Christmas he spent with us.  I've still got those gifts that he got for me.  _For all the abuse she put him through, Akane always did have a certain fondness for Ranma from the beginning.

                Granted, they did get off to one of the roughest starts of all time, but over time, even after so many misunderstandings, broken hearts, angry words, attempts at revenge (both by each other and by most everyone they knew), and the many and varied fiancees, Akane always saw Ranma as one of her best friends, and one of her favorite guy friends, and she wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

                _If only HE would feel the same..._  That started the anger pumping a little again, which led her back to remembering the incident earlier.

                Just then, as though bidden from fate itself, a red-headed, pigtailed form collapsed in the Tendo's living room.  An unhealthy-sounding, "Unnngghhh...." came from the fallen Ranma.  Kasumi gasped, while Akane merely stated, "Baka."

                "Akane, would you please help Ranma?  I've got to finish dinner..." Kasumi pleasantly asked.

                "Why do I always have to be the one to bandage that idiot up?"

                "Well, sis, it's probably because you're the one who makes him need them all the time."

                "Nabiki!  Don't you start, too!" Akane yelled at her older sister, who had just walked by on the patio.  Turning to get the first-aid kit from a drawer, she went back to grumbling.  "It better not end up like the last time I fixed his stupid cuts up..."  The memory of the "love-potion band-aid" was still in her mind, even though the end result was more of a positive thing in her mind these days.  _That's when he called me cute, but without the band-aid on his nose, he meant it.  Every word..._

                "All right, Ranma," Akane ordered, sitting down next to the half-conscious aquatranssexual.  "Hold still while I put some of this hydro-whatsit peroxi-whachamacalit stuff on you, though I don't see how much good it'll do you.  It looks just like water..."

                Many screams of pain resulted in the ten minutes that followed.

                "Hey, Ranma," Nabiki called as the 17-year-old male martial artist practiced in the dojo.

                Pausing in the middle of a kata, Ranma craned his head back to the entrance.  "What is it, Nabiki?  I'm a little busy trying to get some of this anger out of my system.  You _do_ know your sister is trying to kill me, right?"

                "Well, I just thought you'd like to know what Akane's got up her sleeve right now, that's all."

                "Hmmm?" an indignant Ranma grunted sarcastically.  "I'm sorry, Nabiki, did you say something about that uncute tomboy?  No?  Okay, then, I'll just finish up my workout, then..." he replied as he finished his kata.

                "No, seriously, Ranma.  She's plotting something right now, as we speak."  Ranma, reaching the end of his workout, grabbed a towel off the ground and started walking to go take a bath.  Nabiki continued her sales pitch.  "I hear it's something really, really sinister."

                "How many times do I have to tell you, Nabiki?  I don't want to know what's going through the twisted mind of that cruel, mean, punishing, short, wide-hipped, overbearing, uncute tomboy death-cook!"  Unfortunately for him, he had said his entire reverie about Akane while passing right by the living room, which just-so-happened to have Akane watching TV within it.  A bright red glow was pouring off of her body.

                "RANMA NO BAKA!!!"

                He never saw the mallet coming.

                ~ The day before Ranma's birthday ~

                "Hey, Kasumi, could you help me with the decorations?" Akane asked as her sister hung up the laundry and drying futons on the clothesline.  She made sure to speak in hushed tones, since Ranma and Genma were sparring once again above (and, more often than not, within) the koi pond.  So far, Ranma had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow, and Akane wasn't about to let that change.  "I don't think that I can do them all by myself."

                "Of course I will, Akane.  Just let me finish the laundry, first," Kasumi replied in her usual pleasant way.

                "Thanks, Kasumi," Akane replied as she headed back towards the training hall, where the events were going to take place the next day.  So far, so good.  No one except Genma, Ranma, Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, and Soun had prior knowledge that Ranma's 18th birthday was the following day.  That way, no one else could possibly cause anything to go wrong with what Akane was planning.

                That wasn't to say that no one was invited.  Far from it.  Rather, nearly everyone Ranma had ever _met_ was going to be showing up to this party.  It would be hard to keep them all quiet long enough for his surprise party to actually surprise him, but Akane thought the rest of her family could manage that well enough.  Most of them owed Nabiki favors or money or something, and they didn't want any additional interest added to their already-high debts.  The rest would be kept in check by Genma and Soun and, if she went along with it, Cologne.

                Akane walked past the curtains that said "Under renovation" that led to the dojo.  That was about the only way Ranma was kept out of there.  Akane and company had been planning this birthday party for some time, and since the location was going to naturally be in the dojo (it was the only room in the house big enough for so many people), all measures had been taken to keep Ranma out of it, like Soun deciding that the dojo "needed new flooring and some wall work".  Since the dojo was "under construction" (which it really wasn't), Ranma had plenty of reason to steer clear.  Soun even had a few of his friends in the neighborhood (who just-so-happened to work in construction) to mull about the place after school, completing the illusion that the dojo was, in fact, under renovation.  When Ranma had asked why the dojo was being renovated, Soun did his "scary" face, accusing Ranma of being responsible for most of the damage.

                That shut the teenage martial artist up pretty fast.

                Akane walked through the dojo, past the refreshment table, which was stocked with plenty of food from a caterer, much to Akane's frustration.  _She_ wanted to cook the food for the party, but the rest of the household (sans Ranma, who wasn't there) had quickly made a long list of reasons why she shouldn't, none of them saying how bad of a cook she was.  Even Akane had to admit that many of them were very creative.  As she approached the makeshift stage (set up by those friends of Soun's, so there was some actual construction going on), she smiled as she remembered the last time there was a big party in the dojo.

               _Last Christmas, with the meteor shower.  _The memories were still fresh in her mind, and she always like to remember them with fondness.  She had been very fond of Ranma for some time now, but it wasn't until the time she had Ranma eat that Sakura Mochi that she was convinced that she wanted him to be more than a friend.  Then, since her fight against Mariko, when Ranma shouted out, "I love you!" to her, she had made her decision.  Granted, Ranma told her time and time again that he didn't mean what he said, that he would have said it to whoever was in Akane's position, but Akane had decided to ignore those excuses.  After all, when was the last time she listened to his excuses and took them seriously?

                Akane walked up onto the stage, making sure that all the decorations put up so far were absolutely perfect.  There had been too many times when her plans to do something nice for Ranma were ruined, whether by him, her, or one of his "other" fiancees.  Too many times were her attempts at getting closer to him destroyed.

                _Well, there's no way I'm going to let this get messed up.  No way in hell._  Akane's ki glowed about her as she got all fired up, laughing in the insane-Akane fashion that Ranma had learned to fear quite a bit.

                ~ The Big Day ~

                Everyone was there, except, of course, for Ranma and Akane.  They were out "getting groceries."  The same could not be said for the rest of Nerima.

                Like Akane had planned, everyone Ranma had met in his life (with maybe one exception based of the possibility of seppuku) was there.  Shampoo, Kodachi, and Ukyo were all sitting in a circle, their ki pouring off of them in waves as they each tried to control themselves and not wreck the entire party.  Gosunkugi, Daisuke, Hiroshi, Yuka, and Sayuri were at one side of the room, discussing the classes they were going to take after summer vacation was over.  Toma was busy talking with Kirin, while their lackeys all sat in a group, talking as well.  Kirin had brought Lychee along, but she was outside caring for Jasmine (who had suffered a bit of airsickness on the trip over, and nobody likes to be around a sick elephant).

                The Crepe King talked with Picolet Chardin about various kinds of foods, while the Niku men watched them in horror as the discussion veered towards pork buns.  Miss Hinako, Principal Kuno, Toramasa Kobayashi, and other various school staff all discussed memories of Ranma and his antics in school.  Lin-Lin and Lun-Lun took tips from Mariko about various showy-type attacks that were effective in battle, while Azusa Shiratori chased after Tsubasa Kurenai (disguised as a potted plant), calling him "Charline" _(A/N the meaning of this French name is actually "manly".  Just thought it fit really well)_.  Mikado tried to get the attention of Ranma's three other fiancees, only to receive a three-way beating with a giant spatula, two big bonbories, and a well-aimed ribbon.

                Kasumi was putting the finishing touches on the refreshment table, while Dr. Tofu (who was near Kasumi at the time) poured peanuts and mints into a cup and tried to drink it.  Kin Ono, Dr. Tofu's mother, was nearby, no doubt studying Kasumi's hips from afar or something like that.  Ryoga was kept busy between talking to Mousse and keeping track of Checkers and her litter.  Yotaro and his mother were being entertained by the panda-drawing and its badly-drawn Ranma-chan counterpart.  The antique salesman (the one who sold Kuno the phoenix egg), the local priest who "helped out" when the evil oni escaped its box, and the Ghost Cat all discussed various tales of lore in a corner of the dojo.

                Natsume and Kurumi were busy talking with Satori, no doubt trying to get any ideas from him as to where Akane could use some work on her self-defense.  The old lady from down the street (the one who, without fail every morning, manages to douse Ranma with a splash of cold water) was busy talking with Genji Heita, while Yutaro tried to put the moves on Midori, the kindergarten teacher.  Sotatsu, Yasukichi, Copycat Ken and Chengensai all discussed various styles of martial arts.

                Nabiki occupied herself by making sure that Kuno didn't break anything, while Shinnosuke and Sentaro Daimonji sparked up a conversation about Akane (or whatever Shinnosuke could remember about her, that is).  Sasuke and Gendo were busy bickering near the front of the crowd.  Cologne and the Jusenkyo guide struck up a conversation about some part of China they had both been to.

                Nabiki, for her part, was nothing short of amazing.  She went around, quietly but still making her presence known, as she told people to quiet down and hide underneath various decorations.   When people got a bit huffy with her (always the ones who owed her something), she was able to remember to the single yen how much they owed her, and made lightning-quick calculations to them about how much they _could_ owe her within a few months.  That little trick even managed to get Kuno to agree to surprising Ranma.

                Everything was ready.  All that was needed was for Ranma to walk through the door of the dojo, and Akane's months of hard work would be paid off, with interest.

                "C'mon, Ranma!  Don't you want to see how well the dojo is coming along?  Dad told me they're doing all sorts of stuff to make it better," Akane said as she and Ranma walked through the gates of the Tendo residence.

                "I dunno, Akane.  Your dad made it pretty clear that I should steer clear of the dojo..." Ranma responded, scratching the back of his head.

                _Oh, sure, NOW you decide to listen to people.  Dammit, Ranma!  Bakabakabakabakabaka...._  Swallowing her small burst of anger, she grabbed Ranma's wrist with both of her hands, dragging him towards the dojo.  "Come _on_, Ranma!  Dad's not here right now, see?  What's one little peek going to hurt?"

                _Whoa, _Ranma thought, _what's making her so pushy all of a sudden.  Wait a minute, this is Akane I'm talking about here.  She's about as pushy as they come_...

                "All right, if it'll get you to stop wrenching my arm out of its socket..."  Akane visibly became happier, but didn't let go of her grip on Ranma's arm until they were at the door of the dojo.

                "Well, go on, Ranma.  Take a peek.  I'll watch for Dad," Akane said, turning her back (but not her head) to Ranma.  As Ranma opened the door to the dojo and stuck his head through, Akane gave him a less-than-light nudge the rest of the way through.

                "SURPRISE, RANMA!!!!!!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!" the entire crowd shouted at once, the lights flaring on to show Ranma the party that had been planned for him.  He was taken aback by how many people were there.  _Half of Nerima must be here, with a good chunk of China, too!_

                "Happy birthday, my boy," Genma shouted, running over and slapping his son heartily on the back.

                Soun wasn't far behind.  "So, what are your plans now that you're eighteen years old, Ranma?  Anyone in particular you're planning on spending more time with?" he asked as he pushed Ranma towards Akane, who was just coming into the dojo.  Akane was just turning around as Ranma's head found itself landing square on her chest.

                "Ranma....!!!!"  Even if it WAS his birthday, Akane still had no qualms against giving him a good thrashing with her industrial-sized mallet.

                "Heh heh heh, they're practically newlyweds!" Soun chuckled.

                "You said it, Tendo!" Genma heartily replied.

                That night, entertainment came in many forms.  Like the Christmas party the year before, each person at the party who was willing got up on the stage and demonstrated some talent of theirs.  Kuno demonstrated his watermelon-splitting abilities, Lin-Lin and Lun-Lun DJ'ed a small dance floor where people couldn't stop from dancing, and Toma did a really impressive magic show with his temporary partner, Mousse.  Ryoga had Checkers and her pups do all sorts of tricks he had taught them over the earlier months, Mariko led people in a long-winded round of "Happy Birthday" for Ranma, and Satori used his mind-reading abilities much as any mind-reading entertainer would.  There was a pie-eating contest, which Picolet won practically before it started.  Copycat Ken did impressions of famous people, while Yasukichi did his impressive egg-catching abilities with glass globes the size of normal eggs.  The frog man had his trained frogs do their little show, and even Genma joined in (in panda form) to do various circus tricks.

                As the party wound down, Nabiki announced that it was time for everyone to give Ranma his gifts, if they brought one with them.  The gifts Ranma got were unique, to say the least (especially the "free food for a year" tickets from Shampoo and Ukyo to each of their restaraunts, or the autographed football from Higuma Torajiro, or even the powder-covered bracelet from Kodachi, which he made sure to keep in its wrapping).

                Then it came time for Akane to give Ranma his present from her.  It was a small vase with ribbon wrapped around the neck and through the handle of the lid.

                "Ranma, this is for you.  I called the Jusenkyo guide, and asked him to get something for me from China..."  Ranma stood there, dumbfounded and not sure whether to hope or not.  "It's some water, from the Spring of Drowned Man..."  Ranma grew teary-eyed, not sure at all what to say.

                _This is it!  No more girl!  I'm--I'm going to be CURED!_  "Akane, I--I don't know what to say..."  The world seemed to both slow down and disappear around the two as they slowly made their way towards each other.

                They had made it within three feet of each other when a battle cry tore the beautiful scene to pieces.  It all happened so fast that Ranma would only be able to process what happened after the fact.

                Somehow, Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo had gotten into another one of their fights, but this time, they were fighting for real.  A three-way battle royale was taking place five feet behind Akane.  Four feet....two feet....

                Kodachi was the one who flew half-conscious into Akane's back.  The impact wasn't hard enough to hurt her, but it was hard enough to knock the vase out of her hands...

                Everything and everyone in the room seemed to freeze in time, except for the vase, which seemed to slowly and gracefully make its way to the floor.  It reached its destination, shattering into a thousand pieces, spilling the contents on the floor (but, luckily or not, not onto any_one_ in the dojo).  Ranma could only stand in absolute horror as his hope for a cure to his curse drained through the floorboards of the dojo.

                Akane, having gotten back up off the floor, looked at where the vase had hit the floor, horror in her eyes, too.  _All gone.... All of it.... Gone.... All of my work.... For nothing...._

                It took a few seconds for Akane to get over her initial shock, only to have it replaced by a bitter sadness.  _Again.... It's happening.... Again.... Ranma.... I'm so sorry.... It's my fault...._

                Getting up off her knees, trying to breathe through choked sobs, trying to see through teary eyes, Akane ran straight out of the dojo.

                "Akane!" Ranma shouted, taking off right after her.  Everyone else there simply stood, still taking in what just happened.

                It took a while for her to stop, but they made it as far as the vacant lot down the road before Akane sagged down onto her knees, unable to face Ranma.

                "I'm sorry, Ranma," she said between sobs.  "I know how much it meant to you...  I just wanted you to have a really great birthday..."

                Ranma slowly walked up to her, not going around to talk to her face-to-face.  _She's gotta find the strength to turn around and face me.  If I go around and make it so she doesn't turn around, she'll think that I think she's weak or something_, Ranma thought.  Previous experience had taught him how Akane thought in times like these.  "What are you talking about, Akane?  It's been a great birthday.  Really," he said, so soft only she would be able to hear him.

                "But... the water....  It's all my fault, Ranma!" Akane nearly shouted the last part, in anger, despair, and pent-up frustration.

                Ranma tried to process that for a little while, but was unable to make out what she was talking about.  "What?  What do you mean by that, Akane?  How could you have possibly known--"

                "You should know.  You know how clumsy I am.  You're always telling me how much of a klutz I am..." Akane's voice wasn't angry towards Ranma, but more bitter towards herself.

                _She thinks it's HER fault the vase got dropped!_ Ranma realized.

                "I don't know.... how many times you told me... how clumsy I am..." Akane managed out between ragged breaths.  Ranma saw from behind the tears falling off her face and onto her skirt.  "But you were right, Ranma... I'm sorry I ruined your birthday present.... I'm sorry I got your hopes up so high...."

                Ranma, not knowing what exactly to say, knelt down behind Akane, putting his hand on her shoulder.  This brought her head up, and slowly, she turned her head around to face him.

                "Ranma...."  Her eyes glistened with light from the moon and the lampposts a block away as she looked into Ranma's eyes.  _God, she's beautiful..._

                Ranma smiled lightly, his face softening for her.  "Akane, it's the thought that counts, right?  If you ask me, it's the best present I've ever had."

                For a moment, Akane softened.  Then, as though a sudden memory of that moment earlier had just flashed through her mind, her face grew sad and bitter again.  "You're just saying that, Ranma," she spat out, quickly turning her head away from him again as she got up off the ground, her fists clenched.  Ranma got up as she did.

                Ranma started to feel his anger rising, with thoughts of calling her all the usual names, but another look at her sobbing face banished all those thoughts.

                _That's about the last thing she needs right now, and about the last thing I need to do to her_.  Smiling to himself, he knew exactly what to do.

               "Go ahead, Ranma, call me clumsy.  Call me an uncute tomboy--"  She was cut off when Ranma turned her around and quickly, yet gently, pressed his lips to hers.  There, in the empty lot, they stayed like that for as long as it took Akane to unconvince herself that Ranma now hated her.  When the kiss stopped, they simply held each other in a close hug, Akane resting her head on Ranma's body, Ranma resting his head on Akane's head.  There they stayed, silent, content, happy.

                Walking back to the party, the two discussed how exactly they were going to tell everyone.  Reaching an impasse (and not finding any ways possible to talk to everyone and tell them about what had happened without very violent responses from certain members of the partygoers), Ranma came up with the idea of simply holding hands back to the party.

_To be Continued..._

                _Not bad, eh?  Granted, it's a bit unlikely to happen in the Ranmaverse, but I can dream, can't I?  Go ahead, call me a hopeless romantic, but I think this would make a great follow-up special or something like that for the Ranma 1/2 anime series (since they never actually finished it; sorry folks, I refuse to believe that "The Two Akanes; 'Ranma, Look at Me!'" can be judged as **THE** ending to the Ranma anime)._

_                Stay tuned for the following chapters to come!  They'll feature stories of how the other characters deal with the "new" (for lack of a better word) couple, and how they end up pairing up together._

_                Oh, yeah.  READ AND REVIEW, PEOPLE.  I don't know what to think or do without good reviews (just don't tell me exactly how the next chapter is going to go or something like that; just a little advice on my style of writing, how to keep in-character better, etc.).  Every time I read a fic, I make sure to let the person know my thoughts (and I never, ever flame; I offer advice).  At least return the favor!_

_                See you all next chapter!_


	2. Breaking Points and Spatulas

Together at Last!

Chapter II

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction

By wingzeropilot

www.geocities.com/wing_zero_pilot195/ (Harmless Plug of the Day)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_                Hello again.  It's me, wingzeropilot.  I hope you liked the last chapter (granted, it was WAY too short, but it was all I could come up with before writer's block really hit hard), because there's more to come.  Yeah, this is the second chapter of the story.  And don't think that I'm going to give away the storyline in the author's note at the beginning (like I have a bit of a habit of doing), because I'm not!  So there!_

_                Well, OK, if you're going to beg…   This part continues right where I left off in the previous chapter.  But that's as much as I'll let you know for now!_

_                Anywho, on with the story, ne?_

_                By the way, I STILL DON'T OWN RANMA ½.  If you think I do, smack your head against something hard and pointy.  There, that'll learn you, baka!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Part II: Breaking Points and Spatulas**

                Walking back to the party, Ranma and Akane discussed how exactly they were going to tell everyone.  Reaching an impasse (and not finding any ways possible to talk to everyone and tell them about what had happened without very violent responses from certain members of the partygoers), Ranma came up with the idea of simply holding hands back to the dojo.

                A crowd of people had gathered outside the Tendo residence, waiting for some sign of Ranma or Akane.  The last they had seen of either of them was Akane running off, sobbing, while Ranma ran after her.  None of the partygoers had any idea what was going on, and at least one was making hopeful speculations.

                "I'm sure they're all right, Tendo," Genma Saotome offered, patting his bawling friend on the shoulder.  "I bet Ranma and Akane have made up by now, and then some!"  A giant smile occupied the lower half of Genma's face.

                Partly reassured by Genma's take on what was going on, Soun stopped sobbing for a little while.

                A _little while._

                "Saotome, you're such a good friend!" Soun cried out, taking his friend in a bear hug, still sobbing.  Regaining his composure as much as he could (but still with light streams of tears coming down his face), Soun stood up straight, and was the first to see Ranma and Akane walking back to the party.

                One can guess his reaction to seeing them holding hands.  And, of course, the reactions of Genma, who had also spied the two walking back.  Soun started bawling with happiness, while Genma let out a huge, "WAY TO GO, BOY!!!"  That was enough to get the attention of the rest of the partygoers.

                Akane, upon seeing the whole crowd watching them come back, only held Ranma's hand tighter, making sure he didn't weasel his way out of this one somehow (and also to keep the two from getting broken up by Shampoo, Ukyo, or any one of a hundred of the partygoers who opposed the two being romantically involved).

                "Hey, Akane?"

                "Yes, Ranma?"  Akane looked up over to her fiancée, whose face was contorted with pain.

                "Could you, um, loosen your grip a bit?"

                Ryoga, as directionally-challenged as ever, managed to find his way to the Tendo kitchen, rather than outside as he had hoped.

                "Dammit."  Akane had run off, crying, and Ranma had given chase.  Ryoga would have, too, but…

                _But I got lost again.  Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!  Akane's probably bawling her eyes out, and Ranma's probably making it worse, the cold-hearted son of a—_

                He continued wandering, making it to Genma and Ranma's room, the bathroom, and back to the kitchen again, until he finally found himself outside.  But, of course, there was already a crowd between him and seeing Akane and Ranma walking back.  Ryoga slowly made his way through the crowd, making sure not to shove anyone over too hard (but still not being very gentle about it).

                Everyone was going outside to look at the two lovebirds, while Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi were still fighting.

                "It your fault that happen, stupid spatula girl!" Shampoo accused Ukyo.  Her huge bonbories were held in a fighting stance, ready for the next attack from either girl.  She smiled wickedly.  "Since you take away cure to curse, Ranma hate you both now."

                "Fat chance, sugar," Ukyo spat back.  "Like he'd go for some unintelligible hussy like you!"

                Kodachi, of course, laughed maniacally (as she always does).  "Both of you invalid little girls will be so heartbroken when Ranma-darling confesses his undying love for me!"  More insane laughter.

                Each girl stood as a point in a triangle, making sure not to turn a back to either of their opponents.  And stood, and stood, and stood.  Not a single one made a move, but instead just continued their bickering, just like in the hot springs race (_A/N: __season 3, episode 44, "Fight!  The Anything-Goes Obstacle Course Race").  Until, of course, they first heard about a mutual fiancée of theirs…_

                "Hey, Ranma and Akane made up!  They're walking back holding hands!" one of the partygoers shouted out to those still in the dojo.  At the end of that shout, each of the three girls stopped moving altogether.  Then, after a short pause, they all dropped their weapons and fell to their knees.

                "Ranma…"  (Shampoo)

                "…and Akane…"  (Ukyo)

                "…holding hands?"  (Kodachi)

                Each girl's repeating of the parts of that sentence was quiet, almost a whisper.  Hoping against hope, each ran outside to make sure they weren't having a nightmare.

                Shampoo, the faster of the three, was first to see the two walking back, still a block away.  She was soon joined by Ukyo, and then Kodachi.

                All of them saw, with tears in their eyes, the two walking back, hand-in-hand.

                "Ran-chan…"

                "Airen…"

                "Ranma-darling…"

                Upon seeing the three of them in the crowd, Ranma and Akane's smiles disappeared, replaced with worry and concern.  Ranma let Akane's hand go and whispered a quick, "I'll be right back.  Trust me."  The crowd seemed to sense what was going on with the three, and made sure to keep their distance (since none of the three were known for their peaceful ways of coping with things like this).

                He ran to where the three were standing, or, rather, tried to.  By the time he reached that spot, all three had run off.

                "Aw, man.  I was afraid this was gonna happen…" Ranma said, as Akane walked up to him.  He turned around to face her.  "They ran off without letting me say anything to them…"

                "I saw, Ranma.  We'll have to go talk to them sometime soon."  Understanding, something Ranma hadn't seen very often in Akane's eyes before, was present in her face.

                "Yeah, but I wouldn't do it _too soon.  The last thing I need is another trip to the hospital…"_

                "Yeah, you're probably right, Ranma."  Akane's face brightened again.  _Well, I do hope they'll be OK, but Ranma's evening shouldn't be spoiled by something like this.  Not in a long shot.  "C'mon, you've still got candles on your cake to blow out," she said, taking his hand and starting back towards the dojo._

                Ryoga had finally made it through the crowd when Akane walked over, said something to Ranma, and took his hand in hers.  Ryoga couldn't believe what he had just seen.

                _Akane…no…_

                Pain tore through his glass heart, shattering it into so many fragments.  To see Akane smile like that, and then take Ranma's hand…  She might as well have stabbed him in some semi-vital organ and left him to bleed to death on the street…

                The pain, although it didn't lessen or go away in the least, was soon overridden with anger.  Ryoga's anger toward himself.  The worst enemy to a person with a broken heart is not always the person who broke that heart.  It is usually the person whose heart was broken.

_                I should have been expecting this from the start.  I should have taken steps to keep from getting hurt like this.  I should have killed Ranma when I had the chance.  I should have… I should have…_

_                I should have told Akane how I felt… Maybe that would have been my hand she was taking if I had…_

                All the self-loathing, sadness, and disappointment mounted up in Ryoga in those moments was almost more than all the despair he had felt in his life summed up together.  With tears in his eyes, he turned around and ran, not looking back.

                The party had ended fairly well, shortly after Ryoga ran off.  Some people never noticed that four members of the party were missing, especially in Ryoga's case, as he didn't make such a public show.  Ranma and Akane, however, did notice Ryoga's sudden disappearance.

                "I wonder where Ryoga ran off to," Akane wondered as the Tendos and Ranma cleaned up the aftermath of the party.

                "Probably got lost again," Ranma answered.  _Either that, or he saw me and Akane holding hands.  Poor guy.  I bet he ran away after that.  He's probably in __Kyoto__ by now._

                Ryoga ran.  And ran and ran and ran.

                No matter how fast you are, no matter if you _are one of the best martial artists living, you can't outrun a broken heart.  Especially if you're unable to keep track of whether you're running in circles or not._

                After finally running outside of Nerima's city limits and into a nearby forest, Ryoga let loose a few Shi Shi Hokodans, tearing the forest to pieces.  But, no matter how much he vented his depression, it still haunted him.

                His own words even came back to mock him.  In the mists of Ryugenzawa, he'd told Ranma that, no matter who Akane would choose, he'd always be there, even if it had to be as P-Chan for the rest of his life.  After what had just happened, the idea had lost all of its luster.  He couldn't bear the thought of having to always be around Ranma and Akane as their love grew.  Seeing the hands held together was bad enough.  How much would it hurt if he had to watch them kiss, or do more than that…?

                Three forests and two mountains later, he started running again.  He ran and ran, not having any idea where his steps were taking him.

                He didn't care.  The more he exhausted himself, the sooner he could go to sleep, where broken hearts and anger towards oneself doesn't hurt so much…

                Ukyo ran straight to her restaurant.  She flung open the door, almost enough to break it, but she knew better than to let her anger vent so much she trashed her livelihood.  _That would be pointless.  Just like my love for Ranma… __The last thing I need now is to deal with a broken heart AND pay for a new door… __I've just got to deal with this, by myself.  By myself, using my ways of coping…_

                Naturally, she started up the okonomiyaki grill and started making okonomiyaki.  After retrieving her curtain from the back room, hanging it up, and serving a few customers, she felt a little bit better.  But not as much as she had hoped.

                It was getting late.  After staying open for three hours longer than usual, Ukyo shut down the restaurant and cleaned up the various messes she accidentally caused while her mind had been wandering.

                She had just thrown the dirty dishwater out the back door when she saw the little, shivering black piglet at her back door.  _I know that pig…_

                "C'mere, P-Chan.  You look like hell," Ukyo said to the little pig.  She wasn't surprised when it refused to come to her.  "C'mon, you jackass pig.  You look like crap!  Where have you been staying all night, a dumpster?  C'mon, you need some food and a warm place to stay tonight."

                The pig still refused to budge.

                "Guess you've been put out, too, huh?  Lemme guess, Ranma and Akane?" Ukyo asked, not caring if pigs couldn't understand what humans said.  She walked over to P-Chan and sat down next to him.  "I tell you what, I probably should have known this was coming.  I loved Ranma for so long and so hard that I never even thought that he might have feelings for her."  She slammed her fist into the ground.  "I should've never fallen so hard for him.  Dammit…"  Her tearful self-pity evaporated when P-Chan walked closer to her and sat next to her, looking up to her with those adorable eyes.

                "Guess you think I should stop whining, too, huh?   Dammit, you're so cute I can't keep being angry with myself."  Ukyo smiled.  "C'mon, I'll let you stay the night.  Tomorrow I'll take you back to Akane, OK?"

                For some reason, P-Chan didn't look as happy as he usually did when Akane's name was mentioned.  _Hmm… Maybe this pig knows more about what's going on than it seems…_

                Getting up, she smiled sadly at the piglet.  "C'mon, P-Chan.  Let's get some sleep."

                Little did Ryoga know that one of the things Ukyo had in store for him was a nice, hot bath.

                "All right, then, P-Chan.  Let's get you all washed off so Akane doesn't think I tried to use you as okonomiyaki toppings," Ukyo said to the cursed little piglet.

                P-Chan did **_not like __that idea._**

                After chasing him around the apartment above her restaurant for an hour and stopping him with a well-aimed series of okonomiyaki throwing-spatulas, Ukyo was plenty frustrated with P-Chan.

                "OK, you stubborn jackass.  Come to Aunt Ukyo," she said, picking him up by his bandana collar.  She carried him into the bathroom, locked the door so he couldn't escape again, and started undressing.

                It took a little while before Ukyo noticed that P-Chan was avoiding looking at her as much as possible.  He was even blushing, too, even though she still had her pants and a bra on.

                "P-Chan, you sure do have a lot of modesty for a little piece of pork," Ukyo said as she threw him into the tub.  "You go ahead and get all washed up now.  Any pig who can understand humans as well as you probably knows how to give yourself a bath."

                When Ryoga's head surfaced through the water, Ukyo couldn't stop herself from being surprised.

                "Ry—Ryoga?"

                Blushing furiously, he made sure to keep his gaze away from Ukyo.  "Sorry, Ukyo.  Guess now you know…"  He prepared himself for an all-out beating, screams, or threats to kill.

                "Well, duh, you jackass."  Ryoga face-faulted.  That was NOT the reaction he was expecting.

                "Uh, Ukyo, what do you mean, 'duh'?" Ryoga asked as soon as he was capable of doing so.

                "C'mon, you think Ranma's the only one who knew?  I saw you transform in that haunted cave we all went to.  I think Akane's the only one who doesn't know…"

                Mentioning Akane's name while Ryoga was right there probably wasn't the best of ideas.  He had been holding onto the edge of the ceramic bathtub.  Now there was powder falling from his hands and onto the floor.

                "Guess you got hurt pretty bad, too, huh," Ukyo said.  Seeing the pain in his eyes was something she could do for only so long.  Turning away from him, she continued.  "I know how you feel."

                "…"

                "Hey, Ryoga.  I've got a question for you."  Her voice was sad, but not so much that Ryoga thought she was going to break down and cry or anything.  He probably wouldn't be able to keep himself together if she started crying.

                "Yeah…?"  His voice was one of the bleakest things Ukyo had ever heard.

                "Do you have a place to stay right now?"

                "Hn.  Even if I wanted to go home, I don't think I could find it right now.  I might have had a chance of finding it before, but now…"

                "Well, why don't you stay here for a while?  I could use a little help around the restaurant."  She turned back around, a small smile on her face.  The two had proven themselves a capable pair while they fought against the demons in that haunted cave.  _And I could really use a friend right now, since I don't think I can talk to my closest one for a while yet._

                Ryoga thought it over for a little while.

                "Sure, why not?" he answered, a small smile starting on his face, as well.

                Ukyo set up a spare futon in the living room of her apartment for Ryoga.  Meanwhile, he found himself in the basement of the restaurant as he looked for Ukyo.

                "Hey, Ryoga, you bed's all set up!"  No answer.  "Hey, Ryoga!  You jackass…"  Sighing heavily, she started searching the apartment for him.

                The finally met back up in the back room of the restaurant.

                "Oh, hey, Ukyo.  Sorry.  Got lost again," Ryoga said, scratching the back of his head.

                "Don't worry about it, sugar.  C'mon, I'll lead you back," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him back herself.

                That night, their thoughts tormented them, keeping them from sleeping.

                _C'mon, Ryoga.  Get over it, already!  You knew she was going to do this one day or another!  Kami, you're so stupid!  Ryoga's thoughts stabbed at his heart as he thought of Akane.  Visions of her taking Ranma's hand, smiling the way she did…_

                _Smiling like someone who is truly happy!  Yeah, happy, you dumbass!  Guess that's a new word in your vocabulary, isn't it?_

                _Dear God, you're being vicious to yourself tonight!  Listen to yourself!  If you're that__ unhappy, just kill yourself and get it over with!_

                _No, that's a coward's way out._

_                And what are you, Ryoga Hibiki?  Some brave, intrepid soul you are!  You never even told Akane how you felt!  You ARE a coward!_

                Ryoga considered this for a while, and soon gave in.  _I am a coward…_

                Another memory from that night came to him.

                _"Dammit, you're so cute I can't keep being angry with myself."  Ukyo's words from the alley.  Akane had named his pig form "P-Chan", and explained to everyone that it meant "Pig-Cute".  Now, Ukyo was the one calling him cute._

                _Oh, right, Hibiki.  Like she could fall for you.  You're a pig, for God's sake!  For all you know, she'll mistake you for the pork she's supposed to put on her okonomiyaki!  Besides, even if she does fall for you, you're in love with Akane!_

_                Akane, who is in love with Ranma…_

_                Bad train of thought, Hibiki.  You should know better than that by now.  Just remember, Akane's the only one who ever cared for you while you were a pig, right?_

_                Well, Ukyo DID say that you were cute while you were P-Chan.  Maybe Akane's not the only one who could accept your curse.  Besides, Ukyo knows you turn into a pig, and couldn't care less!_

_                Yeah, but…_

                Ryoga's internal war with himself continued until he just couldn't think anymore, he was so exhausted.

                _Don't even think about it, girl.  He's RYOGA.  R-Y-O-G-A  H-I-B-I-K-I.  He isn't Ranma.  IS NOT RANMA!  Not your best friend, and certainly not your fiancée!_

                Ukyo was having an internal struggle, too.  She knew that the two of them were a good team together, but the only proof of that was when they were fighting demons in a haunted cave.  The two of them didn't have much else in common, except for falling for someone who couldn't return their affections.

                _It's something you have in common!  C'mon, it isn't like Ranma's going to beat the crap out of Ryoga for you falling for him, now is it?_

                _No, Ranma won't do that.  He'll probably just congratulate him, like he did in the cave, when he thought we were a couple._

                More despair and loneliness haunted Ukyo, until she just plain couldn't think anymore.  She sank into a blissful unconsciousness.

~The Day After (The Party) ~

                _Dammit.  Ryoga, you jackass!  Ukyo thought, irritated.  __Honestly.  I sent him to get a washrag from the back room, and he's gotten himself lost again!  What only frustrated her more was the fact that the back room and the main part of the restaurant were connected by one mere doorway._

                As much as that day's events had helped, Ukyo was still not feeling any better about what had happened the previous night.  A lot of things had happened so far that day that would have usually made her have a big smile, but they could only make the sides of her mouth turn up the slightest bit.

                First of all, she had a very healthy flow of customers.  Many were feeling depressed, as she was, that Ranma and Akane had gotten together.  Watching their faces brighten up as they bit into a delicious okonomiyaki would normally have gotten Ukyo out of whatever unhappiness plagued her.

                On top of all the happiness she was giving to her customers, one of her old rivals, the Crepe King, had come in and ordered some food.  Apparently, business was not nearly as good as it used to be for him.  Having a store full of happy, bustling customers while the Crepe King (who had almost left her in the dust before) sat there lamenting over his dead business would have made Ukyo jump for joy, but she just couldn't find the energy to so much as laugh.

                _Maybe some other day, I'll laugh about this.  For now, I guess a picture will have to do, Ukyo thought as she snapped a few shots of the gloomy Crepe King from the back room.  Hearing a bit of rustling behind her, she quickly turned, her battle spatula at the ready._

                "Oh, hey, Ukyo.  Sorry, but I think I got lost again…" Ryoga said, leaning heavily on a walking stick.  He was a mess.  His hair was all messed up, and his clothes were all torn and dirty.

                "Where the hell were you?" Ukyo sighed, sweatdropping.

                "Well, I went to find that washrag, but ended up in downtown Tokyo, I think…  Sorry, Ukyo.  I've just got a lot on my mind right now."  His face became bleak once again.  Ukyo could only assume he meant thinking about Akane and Ranma.

                Knowing she'd have to be the strong one this time, she smiled at him.  "Don't worry about it, sugar," she said, taking his hand again.  "I'll lead you back."

                Blushing, Ryoga smiled back.  "Thanks, Ukyo."

                "Hey, Ryoga."

                "Eh?"

                "Call me Ucchan."


	3. Black Magic and Bonborries

Together at Last!

Chapter III

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction

By son_of_vegeta (formerly wingzeropilot)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_                Hello again.  It's me, son_of_vegeta.  It's been a while since I updated (gomen!), but I was waiting for the 20th review to update.  Right now, it's hovering at 19 reviews (so close!)._

_Yeah, this is the third chapter of the story.  And don't think that I'm going to give away the storyline in the author's note at the beginning (like I have a bit of a habit of doing), because I'm not!  So there! :P_

_                Well, OK, if you're going to beg…   This part continues right where I left off in the previous chapter.  But that's as much as I'll let you know for now!_

_                Anywho, on with the story, ne?_

_                By the way, I STILL DON'T OWN RANMA ½.  If you think I do, smack your head against something hard and pointy.  There, that'll learn you, baka!_

_                By the way again, in case you're unaware (i.e. all the Americans who don't watch the original Japanese version), "Nekohanten" means "Cat Café".  Also, I'm aware that when a person learns most of another language, it doesn't mean that the primary "voice in their head" speaks that language (i.e. Shampoo thinking in broken Japanese rather than in her native Chinese), but for the sake of keeping characters familiar to the audience, I will ignore this and barrel through the rest of the fic.  Besides, in the Ranma ½ series, we even hear Shampoo think in broken Japanese/English (depending on the dub), rather than in Chinese.  If Rumiko Takahashi can do it, so can I!  Also, some Japanese terms will be in the rest of the chapters, including "Hai", which means "Yes", "Sure", "OK", etc., and "seppuku", which is a ritual kind of suicide used by samurai to retain their honor. Also, the term "(name) no baka!" will come up, which means "(name), you idiot!"  If you didn't know all this, read the manga or watch the original Japanese dub._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Part III: Black Magic and Bonborries**

_It's been a whole week since the party, and she still__ hasn't come down from her room, Mousse thought, worried for his beloved Shampoo as he set two bowls of chicken ramen down for the couple sitting at one of the Nekohanten's tables.  The couple thanked him before the guy happily tore into his ramen.  Mousse managed a quiet, "You're welcome" as he walked back to the kitchen, looking towards the stairway that led up to Shampoo's room.  (_A/N: guess who the "happy guy" of the couple is and win ten points! No, it isn't Ranma! ^^_ )_

He never saw the doorway trim until he had already run into it.

His vision was normally pretty bad, but he never had trouble with stationary objects until Shampoo had started her self-imposed exile from society.  Of course, the beatings Shampoo had given him when he tried to talk her into coming out of her room had little to do with that…

Getting up off the floor, he looked back up the stairs, sighed a heavy-hearted sigh, and continued working.

_Stupid Airen… If he just marry Shampoo, we no have to worry… Shampoo thought miserably._

A week ago, right after leaving the party, Shampoo had gone straight to her room and refused to come out.  Most of the time she either practiced her martial arts skills (an effective way to get frustration out of one's system), or just lay down in a fetal position, weeping.

Her thoughts tortured her endlessly.  Images of Ranma and Akane holding hands ran through her head often, but her imagination often took the concept of that image and ran away with it, giving rise to images that were far more heart-breaking.  Ranma and Akane holding hands, Ranma and Akane holding each other happily, Ranma and Akane kissing, Ranma and Akane kissing in a much more passionate way, Ranma and Akane in wedding clothes, Ranma and Akane embracing each other in a way that only lovers did…

All of it saddened and angered her, even though she knew that most of it was her imagination taking its toll on her heart.

She didn't know what hurt more: the idea of herself and Ranma being torn apart, or the idea that she and Ranma never were a possible match to begin with…

"Mousse, are you done mopping the kitchen floor?" Cologne asked, putting her pipe down and blowing out a ring of smoke.

"Yeah, I'm done…" Mousse grumbled.  "…you freeze-dried old gnome…" he added under his breath, and regretted it as soon as he heard the _whoosh of Cologne's staff homing in on his skull._

Cologne's eyes narrowed.  "Good.  Do me a favor—" Mousse groaned, earning him another skull-smasher from her staff, "—and check to see how Shampoo is doing."

His first reaction at this request was happiness.  After all, it was a chance to see Shampoo again!

His second reaction was, of course, suspicion.  After all, this is Cologne we're talking about here.

His third, and final, reaction was fear for self-preservation.  After all, his previous visits had all earned him a hearty beating from Shampoo.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on one's viewpoint), his happiness ruled over the other reactions.  After saying a quick, "OK!" he made his way up the stairs to Shampoo's room.

Cologne smiled as she went to the back to do her weekly inventory on her supply of ramen noodles.

An hour later, after Cologne had finished her inventory, she went to see how Mousse was faring.

Not surprisingly, she came across his beaten and unconscious form at the foot of the stairs.  A lot of marks on his body were obviously from fists and feet, but she could also make out a few marks made by Shampoo's trademark bonborries.

_I see… The child has not yet recovered.  I fear what may happen if her feelings become focused on getting the son-in-law back…_

Cologne was one of the few people who knew of Shampoo's absolute abilities in combat.  _If she unleashes her anger on the outside world, the son-in-law may be the only one who would be able to stop her.  Him or that Ryoga boy.  I'm certain that Akane, Ukyo, or that one insane girl would not survive if Shampoo went into a destructive rage._

She thought about this for a second, and came upon one extremely facinating thought.

_Would Mousse stand a chance of stopping her?  If he did, would it be his fighting skills he would use, or something else…?_

The next day, after recovering from his latest beating, Mousse wondered if maybe he should give Shampoo some time to herself.

_If I keep on visiting her, I may end up in the hospital.  Then again, if I don't visit her, I won't be able to see her!_

_If I don't visit her, she may try something drastic.  Like trying to poison Akane Tendo.  Or something worse._

_But if I do visit her, she'll just get even more angry with me!_

"Aaargh!  I don't know what to do!" Mousse screamed out, unaware of the restaraunt full of customers at the time.  He stood there for a while, his hands grabbing the sides of his upward-tilted head, before he remembered that he was supposed to be working.  The people of the restaraunt stared at him for a little while, but since most of them knew about the antics of the "Nerima demolition crew" (_A/N: sorry if I'm stealing this phrase from another author, but it's a perfect way to describe the main characters of Ranma ½!), they chalked it all up to the "run-of-the-mill insanity" and returned to their ramen._

The day had ended without any problems, aside from Mousse's confused outburst.  Cologne finished up closing the restaraunt and went to do one more thing before turning in for the night.

"Child, is it alright for me to come in?" Cologne tenatively asked her great-grandchild through the door of her room.  She waited a while for a response, but only came through the door after she heard a weak, "Hai."

"Grandchild, are you alright?"  Cologne looked around the lightless room, spying several bowls of finished ramen and just as many empty tea glasses.  "You eat your food and you sleep, but other than that, you have isolated yourself completely from those around you."

"Shampoo no care about what happen outside," she replied, her voice weak and slightly rough.  _She must have been sobbing about the son-in-law again._  "Ranma is happy now with violent girl.  He no want Shampoo.  Shampoo no good enough to be Ranma's wife.  Ranma rather live rest of life with violent girl than with Shampoo."

"You know, child, there are still many different potions and elixers that we have yet to use on those two," Cologne offered.  Shampoo was always one to try and get Ranma through any means necessary, including using "underhanded" methods.  She waited a while for Shampoo to reply.

After waiting a minute or two, Cologne tenatively took a step towards Shampoo.  She could see her great-granddaughter's shoulders shaking with sobs of sorrow, but couldn't see the sad acceptance of reality in her eyes.

"No, Great-Grandmother.  No potions, no e-lix-ers," Shampoo said, squeezing out the last word painfully.

"But child—"

"NO!" Shampoo shouted, standing up angrily.  "If Ranma want Shampoo, Ranma would have say something.  But Ranma no say something, so RANMA NO WANT SHAMPOO!"  She accentuated the last words with a punch through the nearby wall.

Cologne, although surprised and a bit intimidated, said, "All right, child.  But remember that you cannot return to China until you have a husband."  With that being said, she left Shampoo to her thoughts.

_Poor child, Cologne thought as she heard Shampoo take some of her frustrations out on the room surrounding her._

The next day, Cologne decided that Shampoo needed to see more familiar faces in her newly-revised daily life.  Thus, the job of food delivery fell into the hands of the one other person living under the Nekohanten's roof.

Mousse wondered if Cologne really wanted Shampoo to see more people she knew, or just find an easy way to kill him.

Against his will of self-preservation, he walked slowly up the stairs with the tray of food in hand.  _OK, OK, I'll just slide the food through the slightly-open doorway (shut enough to not allow any stray bonborries through), sneak a quick peek to see how she's doing, and be on my merry way…_

As he approached her door and raised his hand to knock, a quiet, heart-wrenching sound stopped all voluntary movement in Mousse's body.

Shampoo's heavy-hearted weeping.

_Stupid, stupid Airen!  Why?  Why Shampoo not good enough to be bride?  Is Shampoo too ugly?  Too violent?  Too strong for Airen?_

_Stupid Airen no here help Shampoo through this.  Stupid Airen always there help Akane, but no Shampoo!  Only one who want save Shampoo from anything is stupid Mousse…_

At that thought, a thousand memories came to light.  Mousse refusing to stop fighting Ranma the first times they dueled, with Mousse tirelessly fighting for her hand.  Mousse fighting against Wu on Kirin's flying barge.  Mousse taking an inhuman number of acupuncture-like feather needles from Toristan, Toma's bird-like minion, only to ignore them all and beat the birdman senseless before his body finally gave out.  Mousse happily agreeing to work every day at the Nekohanten, despite the inhumane treatment he received from both herself and Cologne (as well as an absurdly low pay rate), just so he could be close to her all the time.

Then, of course, there was always Mousse asking time and again during their childhood for her to marry him.  Granted, not _all of the times was he proposing to her (usually to a tree, a purple rake, an old lady ten times his age, a panda, one of Shampoo's decidedly less-good-looking cousins, and so on and so forth), but he was always asking if _Shampoo_ would marry him, and always from the bottom of his heart did he ask._

She had pushed him away time and again.  For what?  The hope that Ranma would fall for her?  She saw how _that_ ended up.  By trying for an impossible goal, she had pushed away any other chances for someone to love her.

Ever since she had arrived in Nerima, she had been alone.  One Chinese girl who spoke broken Japanese amongst thousands of native-born Japanese people.  _Very_ few people in Nerima were able to speak Chinese, and only a handful were able to make out what she was trying to say when she first arrived.  Although her Japanese had improved drastically since her first days in the multi-island nation, she had not yet grasped the language fully.

Unlike Cologne and Mousse, who spoke it flawlessly.  Even though her two fellow Chinese Amazons had moved to Nerima with her, she still felt much like an outsider whenever people began speaking quickly in Japanese, even if it was Cologne or Mousse.

She lived in a land where she was an outsider, a foreigner.  She couldn't go back to the Amazon village in China.  She still had yet to marry or kill Ranma, and to return now would earn her either lifetime banishment or even "honorable" execution, a Chinese version of seppuku.

Although she _had_ considered suicide (right after the party, when the hurt was at its most painful stages), it had lost its luster quickly.  _Shampoo too much of coward to do that._

Her self-pity and self-loathing doubled back, raking across her mind once again with painful thoughts, causing her to go into sobbing fits once again.  She sat in the far corner of the room and cried, as she had done so often since the party had ended.

She tried stopping the tears when she heard the light tapping on her door, but they refused to cease coming.  Gaining a hold on herself, she tried to make herself look as composed as possible as she went slowly for the door.

"What you want, Mousse?" she asked quietly as she cracked the door open, her voice weak and only a very little bit annoyed.

"I brought your dinner, Shampoo," he answered, holding the tray up for her to see.  A smaller-than-usual bowl of ramen, some pork buns, a bowl of rice, some miso soup, and some green tea in a cup wafted their aromas into her room.

"Shampoo no hungry," she answered back.  It didn't take long for her stomach to voice _its_ opinion on her state of hunger, though, as she breathed in the scents of the food.

"I hear a differing opinion.  Now, come on, Shampoo.  You need to eat," his gentle, yet firm, voice replied.  It was different from the usual tone of mindless admiration and adoration he spouted out all the time.

_I think this situation is making us both grow up a lot more than usual, Mousse thought.  He had heard about Shampoo's refusal to use her usual underhanded tactics to get Ranma back in her clutches._

He opened the door fully and walked in.  Setting the tray of food in the middle of the room, he sat down, his arms going to their usual positions within his sleeves.  Shampoo stood there for a moment, then decided to go sit down across the tray from Mousse.

It didn't take long for her to finish the food on the tray, as it had been a good day or day and a half since she had eaten last.  As she set down the empty tea glass, she looked over to Mousse, who had been watching her, wearing a solid poker face the entire time.

"Mousse?"

"Yes, Shampoo?"  Once again, a calm, concerned voice, rather than idiotically adoring.

She wasn't quite sure how to word this, especially in a foreign language.  "You… you still in love with Shampoo, yes?  You no leave Shampoo, like Ranma?"

_That was a question that caught Mousse __completely off-guard.  Never before in his wildest dreams, well maybe not his wildest, had he imagined Shampoo asking him a question like that._

"Um, well, er…" he stammered, attempting to reply.  "That is to say, I, uh…"  Shampoo inched closer and closer to him.  When she was right next to him, she leaned over, her head angling upwards to his, lips pursing.

_What are you doing, you fool!  Kiss her!  She's finally coming around to you, and you're just standing there like some big stupid oaf!  Mousse's internal thoughts finally regained coherence and began berating him on his lack of coping abilities._

_But… She's just doing this because she's on the rebound from Ranma.  She probably would do this to any guy in this position…_

_SO WHAT?!  You've wanted this all your life!  Who are you to refuse her?!_

Mousse, for the most part, was able to keep this internal war just that: internal.  Unfortuantely, the last barrage from one of the voices in his head really got to him.

"ShutupshutupShutUpSHUTUP!!" he shouted, jerking his head left and right.  Shampoo stood back for a moment while Mousse tried to physically reign in his internal thoughts.

After regaining his composure, he turned to Shampoo.  Seeing her, he instantly ran to the other side of the room.  He had seen this kind of emotional reaction before, and always when Ranma had _REALLY pissed Akane off._

"MOUSSE NO BAKA!!!" the red-glowing Shampoo screamed as she let loose with the first punch.

Cologne was about to walk out the kitchen door to go back and count the money in the register when Mousse's unconscious form found its way down the stairs in a not-so-gentle manner.

"I see that Shampoo hasn't let this matter get to her so much that it altered her reactions to certain stimuli," the old Chinese Amazon said all-too-casually.

Raising his face from the floor, Mousse's reply was short, mostly unintelligible, and had something to do with "terrifying red light."  His face returned to the floor rather quickly afterward.

Cologne just shook her head.  _The more things change…_  She was just about to go to the register when she heard the a creak from one of the stairs.  Slowly, Shampoo made her way down.

"Child, are you all right?" Cologne tenatively asked.  "It seems you have worked out a bit of your anger."

Shampoo silently walked to the bottom of the stairs and kneeled down next to Mousse's unconscious form.  Placing his head in her lap, she smiled ever-so-slightly.

"Shampoo feel better now."

"Are you sure you are alright, grandchild?  You don't seem to be quite yourself just yet…"

Although there were still traces of tears in her eyes, Shampoo's smile didn't waver.  "Shampoo OK now, Great-Grandmother.  You no worry."

"All right, child.  If you need anything, I'll be upstairs," Cologne replied, hopping up the stairs atop her ever-present cane.

Shampoo turned her head back to Mousse's face.  "Yes, Shampoo all right, now…"

THE END…….?


End file.
